‘Sex/Life’: Netflix’s Steamy New Show Is Already Stirring up Controversy

Netflix is back with yet another steamy content addition to their catalog. Joining projects like What/If and 365 Days (also known as 365 DNI), Sex/Life will bring plenty of sexy scenes, romance and scandal to the streaming service when it drops on Friday, June 25. However, the show, based on B.B. Easton’s 44 Chapters About 4 Men, is already rubbing some users the wrong way.

Per the official synopsis, “SEX/LIFE is the story of a love triangle between a woman, her husband, and her past that takes a provocative new look at female identity and desire.” Sarah Shahi stars as Billie Connelly (Sarah Shahi), a stay-at-home mom who is pining for her wilder days with ex-boyfriend Brad (Adam Demos), far before she settled down with husband Cooper (Mike Vogel). Flashbacks, fantasies and tension at home ensue.

After the trailer dropped, some criticized the show for “romanticizing cheating,” although it’s unclear if Billie actually cheats on Cooper. Others were made that Billie wasn’t satisfied with her family life, some thought it strayed too far from the source material, and some thought it just looked bad, quality-wise. Scroll through to see some of the reactions to the Sex/Life trailer, as well as the preview in question.

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“Normalising the Cheating. What else could ahve been expected from Netflix,” one person, who was based in India, wrote. “Having husband home and sleeping outside with random guys For thrill adventure will be new normal for rootless West.”

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“Oh look, you made a TV-MA Lifetime movie,” a second Twitter user quipped. “Glad you canceled a bunch of good shows that people liked to expand the tv universe with such profoundness…”

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“If they made a show of a man having an affair it would be cancelled in 37 seconds btw,” a third disgruntled Twitter user wrote. A fourth wrote, “Ah yes, just what we need. Another show that romanticizes cheating.”

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“‘The person that gives you security cant be the same person that gives you a thrill’ I really hope people aren’t telling others or themselves this lie as an excuse to cheat lmao,” a YouTube commenter wrote.
 

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“So Netflix has the obligation to produce something that’s sex related every two months? Good to know,” another YouTuber commenter wrote. A third YouTuber added, “Why is it the wife in movies can get bored then decide to cheat and her husband plus society supports her, but if the man wants outside action he’s a villain.”

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“They should have followed the original storyline of the book instead of this,” yet another person added. “It would be so much entertaining [and] better without the cheating.”